November 2005, From the Editor - dmarti:~$ logout

Do something for freedom every day, especially when you're building new systems.

Since this is my last column as editor in chief,
I get to give a bunch of advice, so I'll cover two
great inventions that we should all take a fresh look
at and come up with more things like them. First,
the most important technology for the Internet isn't
on the Internet. Want a hint? 12:00. 12:00. 12:00.
The second most important technology has a symbol
that you probably look at in a Web browser several
times a day.

And I get to thank people for making the Linux Journal editor job the best job ever. Edsger Dijkstra
once wrote, “Besides a mathematical inclination, an
exceptionally good mastery of one's native tongue is
the most vital asset of a competent programmer.” By
this measure, our authors are competent programmers,
some even in a non-native human language. There has
been no better way for me to get my Linux questions
answered than to assign articles to these informed,
helpful people.

Thanks to the editorial staff too. Linux Journal
is fortunate to have Jill Franklin's managerial,
editorial and XMLitorial skills; Heather Mead's
quiet but effective powers that bring in links
like few other Linux sites; and of course Garrick
Antikajian's eye for good design, even when it
includes hairy-looking code. Thank you all for not
selling out to the Mainstream IT Media and sticking
with your fans.

The humble VCR clock is the Internet's most important
technology because it saved civilization in 1984.
The big movie studios wanted to create a standard
for copyright infringement that would crush any
new communications technology. In a scarily close
decision—5 to 4—the Supreme Court allowed the
VCR to exist because you can use it for time-shifting.

The principle got a thorough test in the Grokster case
decided this June, and although the new “affirmative
steps to foster infringement” test will surely scare
the venture capitalists away from media-oriented
startups, the so-called Sony principle gives
you the right to continue inventing.

The lesson here is that lawmakers and courts look
at the wrappers of things and their real uses,
not just at principles. If an invention is great
for freedom, put a big obvious “clock” on it—a way for it to prove itself to society. How about
a virus checker updater that uses a new P2P system?
Inventing has always been part showmanship, and the
features of an invention let it speak for itself in
debates about laws and norms.

If you thought in the 1980s that you would be able
to participate in global communication and commerce
using freely licensed software and high-grade crypto
on a cheap computer, you should probably tone your
optimism down a little. Our other invention to
appreciate is the little “lock” in the Web browser.
The Internet doesn't work for business transactions
without strong crypto. Every big company that wants
to run a shopping site, share documents with traveling
employees or run a remote backup had to join the
side of freedom in the crypto debate.
When inventing something that makes big business
sense, build in a dependency on freedom and enroll
powerful interests on freedom's side.

This is really our best issue yet. We have a
brand-new feature of the latest kernel, possibly the
most productive Web tool ever, a Beowulf cluster
in a toolbox, freedom-enabled tools for designing
electronics projects and of course a real-time Linux
pinball machine. Stay free and enjoy the issue.

Comment viewing options

Adding additional ZonePlayers is a fairly easy process. You go to the System Settings option on the Controller, choose Add a Zone Player, and then press the buttons on the front of the new ZonePlayer. Then you select a name for the new ZonePlayer, and you're done. Simple.